Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised April 11, 2014 |
| Report Number |
R42442 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Jim Monke, Specialist in Agricultural Policy; Megan Stubbs, Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural Resources Policy; Randy Alison Aussenberg, Analyst in Nutrition Assistance Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
Farm bills, like many other pieces of legislation, have become more complicated and politically sensitive. They are taking longer to enact than in previous decades. Legislative delays have caused the past two farm bills (the 2002 and 2008 farm bills) to expire for short periods, and to be extended for months or a year while a new farm bill was developed.
The 2008 farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) expired twice; the first time was from October 1, 2012 through January 1, 2013, and the second time was from October 1, 2013, through February 6, 2014. Some programs ceased new operations, while others were able to continue. However, neither expiration lasted long enough for the farm commodity programs to revert to an outdated permanent law that would have raised support prices and increased federal outlays.
On January 2, 2013, the 2008 farm bill was extended for one year (P.L. 112-240). All provisions that were in effect on September 30, 2012, were extended through FY2013 or for the 2013 crop year. On February 7, 2014, the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 farm bill; P.L. 113-79) was enacted to cover the 2014-2018 crop years and other programs through September 30, 2018.
Farm bill expiration does not affect all programs equally. For example:
An appropriations act or a continuing resolution can continue some farm bill programs even though a programs authority has expired. Programs using discretionary fundingand programs using appropriated mandatory funding like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) accountcan be continued via appropriations action.
Most farm bill programs with mandatory funding, with the exception of SNAP, generally cease new operations when they expire (e.g., the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Market Assistance Program, and Specialty Crop Block Grants). However, existing contracts under prior-year authority can continue to be paid.
The mandatory farm commodity programs of the 2008 farm bill not only ended with the 2013 crop, but without congressional action an outdated and expensive permanent law from the 1938 and 1949 farm bills stood ready to be implemented to cover the 2014 crop, beginning with dairy, on January 1, 2014.
Crop insurance is an example of a permanently authorized and funded mandatory program that does not expire.
Lastly, a subset of mandatory conservation programs had been extended through FY2014 prior to expiration and did not expire like other programs (e.g., the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP).
The one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill was budget-neutral. Congress extended those programs using an existing budget baseline. However, a subset of farm bill programs did not continue because they did not have a baseline. To be continued, those programs needed budgetary offsets. Likewise, budget reductions targeted in the 2014 farm bill were not achieved in the extension.
